lending a helping hand
by lostinlustnlove
Summary: Rossi decided to have a BBQ for the team, since they worked so hard on the latest case. Everyone is having a good time, but Rossi finds out some news that he can't stomach.
1. Chapter 1

David Rossi and the team had finally solved a hard case that took them all week. David was so proud that the team was able to catch the serial killer who had killed 14 people in 3 weeks. He thought they deserved a little reward. He went down to their desks and gathered everyone.

'So I was thinking since we all worked so hard on this case and we all did such a good job we deserve a little fun. I was thinking a barbeque at my house on Saturday let's say 2 o'clock. JJ bring Will and Henry, Hotch bring Jack. Ill cook some sausage, burgers, and hot dogs. We'll have a few drinks.'

'I'm down.' Reid said.

'Yeah me too.' Morgan agreed.

'Henry loves seeing you guys. We'll be there.'

'As long as you're cooking I'll be there!' Emily smiled.

'Jack loves seeing you guys too. Count me in!'

'This kitten will definitely be there!' Garcia said.

'Great! I'll see you guys tomorrow.'

Everyone gathered their things and left. Rossi packed his stuff and saw that Erin was still in her office. He didn't even bother inviting her. Rossi left the office, and headed to the super market and liquor store. $650 dollars later he was home. His house wasn't messy but there were a few places that needed cleaning up.

The next day, Rossi's backyard was set up perfectly. He had tables placed around the yard. The bar was packed with ice and cold drinks. The grill had burgers and hot dogs cooking. There was a table with chips and dip. Everyone came just on time. There was some party music playing in the background.

Jack and Henry were playing tag. Emily and JJ were talking about the latest celebrity gossip. Morgan and Garcia were flirting as usual. Rossi was manning the grill with a scotch in his hand and a cigar in his mouth. Hotch was pouring Reid some alcohol beverage. Everyone was having a great time.

'You're cooking always seems to amuse me, my Italian stallion.' Garcia said as she bit into a piece of sausage.

Rossi almost chocked, 'Italian stallion? Well that's a first.' Everyone laughed. Rossi's phone buzzed. He saw it was a text from Erin.

_Come to the front – Erin._

Rossi excused himself from the table and walked to the front of his house. Erin was standing there with her arms crossed at her chest.

'Hello Erin. What are you doing here?'

'I wanted to stop by and talk to you about something. But I can see that you are very busy hosting a party. I'll just go.' David could see that she has been crying. She started to walk away. He grabbed her arm and pulled her close to him.

'What's wrong Erin?'

'It's nothing David just let me go.' Her voice started to get loud.

'There has to be a reason why you came here Erin. Now what is it?'

'Nothing David!' Her voice got louder and his guests started to hear the argument. Morgan, Hotch and Garcia started to walk towards the front to eves drop on what was going on.

'Stop acting like a 2 year old and tell me what's going on!' David's voice got loud. Garcia was in shock, she has never heard him scream like that before.

'David just go back to your little work party that you clearly didn't care enough to invite me to.'

'Erin I'm not going to ask again!' At this point everyone was in the front yard watching as they were arguing. Erin saw the group of people.

'David I have cancer.' She whispered into his ear. David looked down trying not to cry.

'Go inside, I'll be there in a minute.' Erin listened to him and went inside.

'Hey guys, I'm really sorry to be a party pooper, but something has come up that I have to take care of with Erin. Thank you all for coming.'

'Dave do you want me to stay?' Hotch said as everyone gathered their things.

'No Aaron, I'll be fine. Thanks for coming.' He waved at everyone as they left. He ran inside.

'David, I'm sorry that I ruined your party.'

'You didn't ruin anything. Plus its 7 o'clock they have been here since 2. So cancer?'

'Yeah, I found out this morning, stage 1 breast cancer.'

'At least they caught it early.' David reached for her hands.

'I'm scared David.' She began to cry again.

'Erin, everything is going to be ok. Do you hear me?'

'You're just saying that because you feel bad.'

'No I really do mean it Erin.'

'What am I going to do?'

'Well they are going to take out the tumor, you'll go through some treatment and hopefully the cancer won't come back again. Look I know we haven't been on the greatest terms lately. But I will help you through this. Whatever you need. I'm just a phone call away.'

'Thank you David. You're making me feel better already.' She leaned in and gave him a hug.

'I have some food left over. Do you want some?'

'Sure. I could take some vodka right now.'

'Help yourself. Hot dog or cheeseburger?'

'Cheese burger.' Erin poured herself some vodka and sat down next to Rossi.

'This is delicious David.'

'I know.' He smiled. 'Hey why don't you stay the night? I don't feel comfortable leaving you home alone in this condition.'

'Do you really want the 'ice queen' staying in your house?'

'Yes I would be honored.'

'I don't have any clothes though.'

'I'm sure I got something for you.'

Erin helped him clean up the backyard. It was 11 by the time they were done. They went upstairs and Rossi handed her some boxers and a t-shirt.

'Thanks. Good night David.' Erin started to walk out the room.

'Hey! Where are you going?'

'To sleep on the couch.'

'Get the hell out of here. You're sleeping in my bed.'

'No funny business Rossi!'

'I would never.' He went to the bathroom washed up and headed to bed.

'Good night Erin, don't worry about a thing. We will take care of it together.'

'Thanks David.' Erin had fallen asleep quickly. However David was up all night thinking about how he was going to deal with this. He secretly loved Erin and couldn't bear to think of loosing another woman in his life.


	2. Dealing with the anger

**This is a long chapter. Happy reading:) leave reviews! **

The next morning Rossi woke up and turned around expecting to see Erin. Instead there was a note.

_Thanks for letting me stay the night. I'm sorry I left before I could say good bye. I'll see you tomorrow- Erin._

Rossi had a disappointed look on his face. He was planning on spending the day with her. After lying in bed thinking of what to do for the day, he got up and took a shower & shaved. He had his usual cup of coffee. He had tried calling Erin a few times but she didn't answer. He went outside and cleaned up anything that they missed last night. His phone rang and was quick to answer it.  
' Erin!'  
'Uh, no it's Hotch.'  
'Oh. What's up Aaron?'  
' Just wanted to check up on you. Is everything ok?'  
' Yeah. Everything's fine'  
' you know you can tell me what is going on right.'  
'Yes. It's just complicated.'  
'Are you sleeping with her?'  
'Aaron! No! I am not sleeping with her!' He hung up before Aaron could respond.

As the day went by there was no texts or calls from Erin. He started to worry. He was debating if he should go to her house or not when the door bell rang. He opened the door and it was Erin.  
' Hey, I've been trying to reach you all day. I was beginning to worry.'  
' Sorry, uhm, can I come in?'  
'Of course.'  
' Is everything ok?'  
'Yea I guess. I want to ask you for a favor. I understand if you say no. I promise it won't affect our work life.'  
' Sure what's up?'  
' I was wondering if you would mind coming to a few of my doctor's appointments with me. I don't want to go through this alone.'  
'Erin of course I would love to go with you. I wasn't joking; I will be there with you through whatever you go through.' He put his hand on her lap and she placed her hand on top of his.  
'Thank you so much David.' Erin stood up, gave him a hug and was on her way.  
Once again that night, David couldn't stop thinking about Erin.  
The next morning. Everyone was in the bull pen talking about what had happened at Rossi's house.  
' What if they're sleeping together?' Garcia said in shock.  
'Baby girl that would never happen. We all know how much they hate each other.' Morgan responded to Garcia's outrageous assumption.  
'I cannot picture them sleeping together.' JJ couldn't stomach the thought of that pair.  
Rossi walked in and went straight to his office.  
'I'm going to go talk to him.'  
'Good luck Morgan!'  
Derek walked up to his office and knocked.' Hey Rossi you ok?'  
'Yeah I'm fine.'  
'Are you sure?'  
'I'm fine Derek! Now please leave I have a lot of work to do!'  
Derek closed the door in shock and went back down to everyone.  
'I don't know what has gotten into him. 'Morgan said as he got to the bull pen.  
'I called him yesterday and he gave me short answers.' Aaron added  
' Erin must of said something that made him this mad.' JJ was starting to get concerned.  
'Let's just get to work, maybe he will calm down.' As everyone walked to their desks, Erin walked in and went to see David. She didn't even knock.  
'Hi.'  
'Good morning how are you?'  
'I'm ok.'  
'I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow. Do you want to come?'  
'Yeah. What time?'  
'3.'  
'ok. I'll drive.'  
'Thanks David.' She walked up and gave him a hug.  
'You don't have to thank me every time Erin.' He smiled as he pulled her in for another hug. She smiled back and walked out of his office and went to her office.  
Meanwhile everyone had just seen what had happened.  
'Yeah they are definitely fucking. He wouldn't even look me in the eye and he's giving her hugs.'  
'Let's just leave them alone. Come on we got a case.' JJ gathered everyone and went to get Rossi.  
'Hey Rossi. We got a case.'  
'I'm coming.' He stood up and walked towards the door. JJ put her hand up and stopped him.  
' I don't know what is going on with you. But how about you try and be nice to the rest of the team. Either you tell us what's going on or you keep your problems at home' JJ looked up with a serious look on her face.  
Rossi rolled his eyes. 'I'm fine JJ!' He stormed past her and went to the conference room.  
'Ok my doves. We have 3 girls rapped with 36 stab wombs each, dumped in the same park in South Carolina in 1 week.' Garcia informed the group.  
'Ok, wheels up in 30.'  
Everyone kept playing with their tablets and Rossi stormed out of the room and went to his office to work on some other files. 30 minutes later he was on the jet with the rest of the team.  
'JJ and Morgan go talk to the girl's family. Prentiss and Dave go to the dumping place. Reid, you and me will go the station to set up the boards.' Aaron ordered the team.  
At the dumping spot, Dave was being extra quiet. 'I could see why the unsub dumped them here, away from any paths or roads.' Emily broke the silence.  
'Yeah. The foot prints start here and go deeper into the woods and stop after a few yards.'  
'I didn't even see that, good eye.'  
'Mhmm'  
'I'm just going to come out and say it, Are you sleeping with Strauss?'  
'Excuse me?'  
'Are you fucking Chief Strauss?'  
'I don't see how that's anybody's business.'  
'So that's a yes.'  
'No that's a no Emily!'  
'Then what happened on Saturday? Why were you being nice to her this morning?'  
'She is just going through some hard times and she needs someone there for her.'  
'Ok, I'm sorry for asking. But we are all in shock. We haven't seen you act like this before.'  
'It's just really hard to deal with right now. Now let's get back to the station.'  
The team all worked together trying to solve the crime; Rossi was still being quiet but not as mean. They got back onto the jet and headed home.  
'Hey guys can I have your attention please...I'm sorry if I haven't been myself lately. I have been told news that has affected me in a very strong way, and it is very hard to deal with right now. The only reason Erin is involved with this, is because we are helping each other with some stuff. We are not sleeping with each other. I swear.'  
'Rossi is your safety at risk that we should be aware of?' Morgan asked.  
'No, not at all. I just need my space, don't worry I'll be here with you guys, I just am not myself right now.'  
'If you need some time, you can take it Dave.'  
'Thanks Aaron.'  
Everyone broke into their own little groups. David felt bad that he had acted so mean towards his friends but how was he suppose to act? His friend had breast cancer.  
He finally got home at about 12. There was a knock on the door, it was Erin.  
'Can I please sleep over again?' It looked like she had been crying for a while; she had a small duffle bag in her hand.  
'Sure. I was just about to go to bed. Good timing.' He let her inside; she was wearing a perfume that smelt like lavender. He absolutely loved that smell. They went upstairs, changed and were in bed. Erin once again was asleep before him. He kept staring at the ceiling, he felt horrible about the way he was acting towards the only family he really had. Suddenly Erin turned around and cuddled closely on top of him. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and soon he was sleeping.  
His alarm went off at 530. At this point Erin was literally on top of him.  
'Shit, I'm so sorry Dave!'  
'Relax its ok.'  
'Wait we didn't?'  
'No we didn't.'  
'Ok good.'  
'Do you want to take a shower first?'  
'Sure.'  
While Erin was showering, he made 2 cups of coffee.  
'I'm done!'  
'Ok, I have coffee ready.'  
He went upstairs took a shower and they were off to work. Rossi was in a better mood today. The team was really happy because they were tired of his attitude.  
'Hey guys, meet on the jet in 30 take your go bags.' Aaron informed the group.  
'Hey Aaron, I have to go to the doctors at 3. Do you mind if I stay here?'  
'Yeah that's fine, you can keep Garcia company.'  
Rossi was sitting in his office when Garcia walked in.  
'Hello my Italian stallion. Why aren't you with the rest of the team?'  
' I have a doctor's appointment at 3. There was no point for me to go.'  
'An appointment for what?'  
'I'm just taking a friend.'  
'Please tell me what's going on.'  
'You have to promise you won't tell anybody.'  
'Of course not.'  
'A close friend of mine has cancer and I'm not ready to lose her.'  
'Her? Is it one of your ex wives?'  
'No.'  
'Who?'  
'Erin.'  
'What?'  
'Erin Strauss has cancer. Penelope I swear to god I will kill you if you say anything.'  
'I won't. That's why you've been acting like an ass this week?'  
'Yes, and I am sorry if I made you upset, I'm just extremely hurt and I'm not ready to lose her.'  
'Are you guys a thing?'  
'No, I'm just being a good friend.'  
'If you need anything let me know. Its almost 2. You should get going.'  
'Thanks Garcia, remember don't tell anyone.'  
With that she was out the door, and he was getting his stuff together. He drove Erin to the doctor, not a word was said on the ride there.  
'So, Miss. Strauss, we have to schedule a date for the surgery.'  
' As soon as possible will be great.'  
'How about this Friday at 11am?'  
' Perfect.'  
'How long is the surgery doctor?' Rossi asked.  
'About 4 hours.'  
They schedule the appointment, got a list of pre surgery rules and were on their way to Erin's house. When they arrived, Rossi sat Erin down.  
'I want to help you with recovery. So I was thinking, do you want to stay at my house while you recover? It's close to the office and the hospital just in case something goes wrong.'  
'If you really want me too.'  
'Of course, come on let's pack.'  
She wasn't sure how long she would be staying at his house, so she packed a lot of things.  
She was looking through her lingerie drawer, biting her lip. She packed half sexy under garments and regular. Just to be prepared in case Rossi played any tricks on her.  
Rossi saw what she was going, and walked behind her and wrapped his arm around her waist and whispered. 'I won't play any tricks, unless you want me to.' She turned around still in his grip. 'Would you mind if you showed me some of your tricks?'  
'We'll see.' He leaned in and kissed her lips. His lips were so soft against hers. She dropped the lace underwear's she had in her hand and wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him in closer. He cupped her ass, and she let out a quiet moan. She pushed him towards the bed and gently pushed him on to the bed as she crawled on top of him. Was this really happening? Dave thought. She unzipped his pants and her eyes grew. She never knew how big he was. She looked up at him smiled and began to suck his Italian sausage. Rossi couldn't help but moan. Suddenly he grabbed her and turned her on to her back so he was on top. He unbuttoned her blouse. Cupping her breasts with his hands. He nibbled on them. He placed small kisses on her stomach, his goatee scratched against her soft stomach. He unbuttoned her pants and in one quick movement her pants and panties were off. ' Well aren't you an expert at this Mr. Rossi.'  
'After 3 wives I've learned a few things.'  
'Shut up and fuck me already.'  
After they made love, they cuddled under the sheets; her head was lying on his chest. 'I think I'm going to tell them about the cancer tomorrow.'  
'if that's what you really want. I support you whatever you want to do.'  
The next morning, as everyone was talking in the bull pen, Erin and David walked in together. 'Guys can I have your attention please.' Their voices stopped.  
'I wanted to tell you that, I have breast cancer. I found out Saturday, which is why I was at David's house that night. He has been helping me cope with everything, which is also why he has been acting like a grouch. Please do not be mad at him, he is just very hurt. I am getting the tumor removed on Friday. I'm telling you this because I look at you guys as a family. Even if you think I'm a bitch. I want you to work extra hard while I am recovering. Dave will be splitting his time by taking care of me and being here with you guys.' By the time she was done, she and everyone else were in tears.  
'What stage?' Reid asked.  
'Just 1, now please get to work.'  
Erin walked to her office while Rossi stood there. 'This was the reason why I was in a shitty mood, and it was not in my place to tell you why. Again I'm sorry guys. Erin will be staying with me while she recovers, since my house is close to the hospital and here.'  
Emily couldn't stop crying. 'Emily it's ok. They caught it early.'  
'I know Rossi, it's just that we have been treating her like shit, and now she has cancer.' She ran to the bathroom as Garcia and JJ followed after her.  
'Rossi, are you ok?' Morgan was really concerned he hasn't seen Rossi cry like that in a while.  
'Its hard Derek, but she is strong and she will get through this.'  
After a few minutes, everyone cleaned themselves up and were on their way to South Carolina. As days went by, everyone worked extremely hard to solve the crime. It was Thursday, when they had found the unsub who had committed the crimes. On the way back to Virginia, Emily wrote Erin a note. When they arrived to the office, Emily printed out the letter and slid it on Erin's desk while she was out to lunch. That night Erin noticed the note:  
_Dear Chief Strauss, __  
__I want to take this time and tell you how sorry I am about saying those mean things about you. I want you to know, if you need anything. I am always a phone call away. I know you are very strong and you will pull through this. I'm wishing you a speedy recovery.__  
__- Emily Prentiss._  
Erin was crying again, she hadn't even noticed that David was behind her reading the note too also crying.  
'Erin let's go, you have a long day tomorrow you need some rest.' As they left her office, she looked down and made eye contact with the rest of the team who looked upset. Rossi wrapped his around her shoulder; she placed her head on his shoulder. She knew the battle would be hard, but she would pull through.


	3. Healing

Neither Erin nor Dave had gotten much sleep that night, even with them in each other's arms. Her surgery was scheduled for 11 am. His alarm went off at 9 so they had time to shower and get ready.

'David, what if I don't make it?'

'Stop it.'

'What if they don't get the entire tumor?'

'Erin, stop.' his voice got louder.

'Seriously David, people die of cancer all the time.'

'ERIN! I said stop it! Stop thinking so negatively about it!'

'Stop yelling at me. You're supposed to be here for me, not yell at me.'

Rossi pulled her into her arms. 'I want you to think positive. Think, the tumor will be taken out. We can come home you can rest and I'll take care of you and soon you will be back to work.'

'Thank you so much David. I don't know what I would do without you.'

'Well you have me so you don't have to think about that. Promise me that after the surgery if you are in any pain or discomfort, you will tell me. I will do everything in my power to make you feel better.'

'I promise.' She leaned in and kissed him. They took a shower, got dressed and were on their way to the hospital. Rossi patiently waited for the surgery to be done. Everyone from the BAU kept texting him, asking for updates every hour. Finally the long 4 hours were done, and he was able to go and see her.

'Hey. How are you feeling?'

'Good.'

'The doctor said you can leave in an hour.'

'Good, I'm hungry when do I get to eat?'

'In a few hours, we'll go home get you settled.'

Rossi sent out a massive text to everyone telling them that the surgery went well. They finally made it home early in that evening. The front step of the house was full of flower arrangements from everyone at the BAU. He brought her upstairs to the bed and helped her get comfortable.

'Dave I'm tired can I sleep?'  
'You know for a smart woman you ask stupid questions. Yes you may sleep. I'm going to go down stairs make myself some dinner. I'll leave something for you too.' He kissed her forehead and closed the door.  
He got the flower arrangements from outside and put them in the living room.  
He made himself a sandwich with a side of scotch and a cigar for dessert. He went upstairs to take a shower, shocked to see that Erin was awake and crying.  
'Erin, are you in pain?'  
'No.'  
'then why are you crying?'  
'I'm just a box of emotions that just exploded. I'm happy the cancers out but I'm sad that I have to rely on people who work for me to take care of me.'  
'Erin, you should be happy that you have people here to take care of you. You know if the kids and your husband were still alive they would be on their hands and knees taking care of you.'  
'I miss them David.'

**~flash back 2 years prior~**  
Erin was stuck at work, there was no way for her to get home since a hurricane was coming over the area. There was already mass flooding all over the state. She called her husband.  
'Hey honey, I'm going to have to stay at work since the roads are all flooded.'  
'Why don't I pick you up with the truck?'  
'I don't want you leaving the kids alone.'  
'They can come with you. I'm coming now.'  
'Be careful love you.'  
The only people that were at the office were David and her. He knocked on her door.  
'So I guess we're stuck here.'  
'I'm not you are. My husband is coming to pick me up.'  
'Lucky you.'  
He left her office and went to lie down in his office couch. A few hours later he heard a scream coming from her office. He jumped up and ran to her office.  
'Erin! What happened?'  
She pointed to the television screen. There was a video of a truck that had flipped over into a river. Everyone in the truck died. They said the bodies were of a man, and 3 kids, 2 girls and a boy. It was her husband's truck.  
'Erin, I'm...I'm so sorry.'  
He leaned in to give her a hug, but she collapsed in his arms dragging them both to the floor. She was sobbing in his arms for hours. He started to cry, he knew how it felt to lose a loved one. They spent the whole nights in each other's arm. He tried everything to calm her down.  
'We will take care of this Erin. Do you understand me?'  
'Yes.'  
**~back to present day~**  
'I know you do Erin. But you have to move on. If we all spent every day grieving the loss of loved ones there would never be any happiness. You deserve to be happy; they would want you to be happy.' He held her in her arms kissing the top of her head.  
'How am I supposed to be happy?'  
'I don't know. Find a guy that will make you happy or buy a pair of shoes. Like the ones we saw in the store window the other day. Your eyes lit up like the stars when you saw them.'  
She giggled. 'You're right.' She looked up and kissed him on his lips.  
'I'm going to take a shower there's some food downstairs. Do you want me to bring you some up?'  
'No I'm good. Thanks. Come to bed after you shower. You must be so tired.' He smiled and disappeared into his bathroom. After his shower he threw on some pajamas and slid into bed. 'You smell so good David.'  
'Thank you ..?'

'Why did you say it like that?'

'Because I'm so used to you saying something bad about me about something. So compliment is just shocking.'

'Why are you taking care of me?'

'Because I care for you.'

'I say so much shit about you, yet you still care for me?'

'Yes, I've learned not to let what people say about me bother me. If I did I would probably kill myself. Not everyone likes my books and a lot of those people write extremely mean things about me. But do I care? Not at all.'

'You're too nice. I don't know how you have had three failed marriages. You're a good cook. Great in bed. You care so much about people.'

'Well let's see, wife one was just whatever. I really loved her. I don't know how things got so bad. Wife two hated the fact that I was never home because of work. Wife three hated the smell of cigars and scotch. I used to have pockets full of mints so whenever she would want to kiss me I would have to pop one in real quick to get the taste out of my mouth.'

'Wife three was crazy. Why did you marry her?'

He stared at the wall. 'She was so good in bed. The things I would do to have just one night in bed with her.'

'You are so disgusting.' she tried to roll over but it was too painful.

'Go to sleep.'

'Good night.'

A few months went by, the cancer never returned. Erin had recovered well. She was finally able to go back to work. She had decided that weekend she would go back home. It was a Friday night and she started to pack. David had gone out with a few friends for some drinks and had come home at about 12 in the morning. He walked upstairs to see the lights still on in his room. He leaned against the doorframe and watched as she packed her things.

'I was really dreading the day you would pack.'

'Shit David! You scare me!'

'I'm sorry. Erin, why don't you stay a little longer?'

'We both know that you want me out of here as soon as possible.'

'No, I actually enjoyed the company. I hate being alone. Why do you think I had three wives?'

'Cause you penis got lonely?'

He looked at her with a disappointing look. 'My penis never got lonely and if it did, it always had my hand to keep it company.'

'Jesus Christ let's just stop talking about your penis.'

'You brought it up.' He started to walk over to her with a look on his face. He wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed her neck.

'David stop I have to pack.'

'Come on it's been so long since we've done it.'

'4 months and 3 days isn't a long time.'

'You've been counting the days since we last had sex?'

'You're unbelievable in bed. I could never forget it.'

He turned her around and laid a kiss on her soft lips. She wrapped her arms around his neck tightly. His hands snaked around her back down to her ass, he cupped her ass. He pulled her on to the bed. He tried to take off her shirt.

'No David.'

'Come on Erin we've done it before.'

'Not in this situation before.'

'What?'

'We haven't done it since the surgery.'

'Ok so?'

'I look different.'

'Erin seriously. Just take off your damn shirt.'

He pulled the shirt over her head, her eyes were shut tightly. She didn't look that different, her one breast was slightly bigger than the other one.

'You are beautiful.' He whispered. 'Open your eyes.' She opened them.

'You are beautiful.' He smiled and continued to undress her. They made love for hours. He collapsed next to her.

'I won't leave only if you fuck me that good every time we have sex.'

He leaned over so he was on top of her. 'I'll keep getting better and better.' He smiled and kissed her and proceeded to round 2.


	4. New Roomate

The next morning Erin and David were having breakfast.

'So David, what are we going to do with the whole living situation?'

'I don't know. Can't you just move in?'

'I have stuff too David. Clothes, furniture, pictures,'

'Well let's go there today. We will start off in your bedroom. We will go through your clothes first. Whatever you want we keep, everything else we will donate.'

'My furniture?'

'Well I always wanted to furnish my basement so if you want to bring some of the couches down stairs and the rest we can donate.'

'What about the actual house?'

'We sell it and you can put the money into a retirement fund or something.'

'You make it sound so easy.'

'Well it kind of is. Now let's go to your house.'

'Shit, I never realized I had so much crap.'

'Does any of this stuff even fit? You have maternity clothes, size zero shit.'

'Probably not.'

'Ok I'll be right back.' He went downstairs and got the box of garbage bags.

'What are you doing?'

'Clothes we keep go in the boxes clothes, we donate go in the garbage bags.'

'You are a pro at this aren't you?'

'When my wives moved out we did the same thing.'

After 2 hours they had finished with her bedroom. She walked into her son's room.

'It still smells like him.' She shed a few tears.

'Erin, you have to move on.' He put his arm around her waist.

'Remember I got him this teddy bear when he had broken his arm and this blanket when he got the flu.'

'Erin, I'm going to go make a few calls and let you soak all this in.'

He went downstairs called a few people and went back upstairs after 20 minutes.

'Who did you call?'

'I called a storage place. I bought one of those storage things. Since this is so hard for you. So you can keep a few things that you don't want to let go. And when things get hard, you can go and look through the boxes.'

She ran into his arms and held him tight. 'Thanks so much David. I don't know how I can ever repay you for everything you have done.'

'You don't need to. You deserve it Erin. I know how it feels to be all alone and I know you must be hurting like crazy.'

She kissed him, 'I love you David Rossi.' He didn't say it back, he just smiled at her. She had a look of disappointment in her face; she went back to packing the stuff. She donated most of his clothes and kept his soccer uniform, stuffed animal and blanket and trophies. She ignored all conversation with Dave as much as she could. Deep down she was upset that he didn't say I love you back.

They spent the rest of the day cleaning. Surprisingly they had finished the entire house.

'The people will be here to pick up the stuff on Monday at 4. They will take all the furniture and clothes to good will. We can go tomorrow to bring the stuff to the storage center and whatever is left we can bring to my house.' He said as they drove back to the house. She didn't respond she just looked out the window.

'Erin what's wrong?'

'Nothing.' He reached over and held her hand.

'Erin, stop lying.'

'I'm not lying. Keep your eyes on the road David.'

He didn't know why she was acting like that but he let go of her hand and focused on driving. When they got home they unloaded the stuff. Erin still hadn't said anything.

'What do you want for dinner?' David finally broke the silence.

'I don't care.'

'Damn it Erin! Tell me what's wrong!' he screamed at her as they were sitting on the island in the kitchen.

'Nothing David.' She whispered.

'Why are you acting like this?'

'Do you love me?' her voice was still low.

'What?'

'Do you love me?' her voice got louder.

He stood up.' This is ridiculous Erin. What kind of question is that?'

'It's a legit question. You haven't said you loved me all this time.'

'I don't throw 'I love you' around.'

'I know you don't but I just need to know. Do you love me?'

He put his head in his hands. 'This is crazy. I can't have this discussion with you right now.'

'Why not David!'

'Because Erin.'

'Maybe I shouldn't sell the house. Maybe moving in with you was a bad idea.'

He was shocked. 'I'm going for a walk.'

'Just run away from your problems Dave! Because when the tough gets going you just run away like a coward!'

'Fuck you Erin!' He stormed off slamming the door shut. Leaving Erin in the kitchen crying in the kitchen. Hours went by and he finally came home. He went upstairs to see Erin crying on the bed.

'Hey.'

'I'll be out in the morning. You just have one more night to deal with me.'

'Come on Erin. Don't do this to me.' he crawled on to the bed so he was over her on his hands and knees and started kissing her neck.

'I just want to know if you love me David and you can't give me an answer.'

'I've been hurt so many times. I don't want to go through that pain again.' She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him deep. She pulled back and cupped his face in her hands.

'I won't hurt you as long as you don't hurt me.'

'I promise.' he smiled and they decided a little make up sex wouldn't hurt.

After they were done, he rolled over and whispered.

'I love you Erin Strauss.'

She smiled, 'I love you too David Rossi.'

* * *

**Let me know what you think.**


End file.
